BenQ-Siemens adds trio of handsets
In the event Europeans are still unhappy with their selection of 3G-capable devices, BenQ's trying to come to the rescue this week, showing their UMTS SL91 slider and E81 candybar -- along with the more pedestrian EDGE-only E71. All three handsets share some visual cues, sporting glossy black finishes and rounded lines, though the similarities mostly end there; potentially most interesting of the three is the SL91, a Chocolate-esque, "mysteriously opaque" device featuring the LG phone's now-trademark disappearing navigation keys. Besides UMTS, the SL91 goes big with a 3.2-megapixel camera, QVGA display, and FM radio with RDS. One notch down the food chain is the E81, giving up some screen real estate with its 220 x 176 display and trading 3.2 megapixels for the more standard 1.3, but mercifully hanging on to the microSD slot. Finally, the EDGE-only E71 steps back up to QVGA, but the real draw here should be its "innovative non-stick coating" that promises to hide fingerprints on its shiny exterior. All three phones look to drop before the year's out, though odds are slim Americans are invited to the party. That's alright, BenQ; we prefer our phones good and smudged with fingerprints, anyway.
[Via Reg Hardware]
[Via Reg Hardware]













Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
KC @ Jul 27th 2006 6:59PM
How much longer can they keep using the Siemens name for - and why do they even bother to continue to use it anyway?
It's not like Siemens was in a great place in the market when they bailed out anyway.
Whatever, there hasn't been much worth getting excited about out of this company for a long time, and these three aren't much exception.
Granted the E91 kicks the Chocolate's butt - no matter what flavour - feature wise but it just isn't the same when it's a clone.
Ypocaramel @ Jul 27th 2006 9:52PM
The Chocolate by no means started the 'black with glowy red bits that appear when you turn it on' bus. The earliest device I can remember was the Olympus MR-100 hard drive mp3 player, with a subjectively better KITT style (i.e. with bigger red bits that looked like LED's) implementation of the same concept. Sony had also had walkman hard drive players on the same concept. So whilist you can call the SL91 a clone of the Chocolate, the fact is the glassy look with LED's underneath has been around for a while.
And the E91's DOCK. That things is incredible. So black and slick if you drenched it in flowing water it would look like a miniature corporate/museum enterence.
Finished.Law.School @ Jul 28th 2006 1:12AM
Yuck, they all look the same...
paolo @ Jul 28th 2006 4:35AM
whatever this shit better be cheap
mightymatt @ Jul 28th 2006 11:33AM
If they ever decide to put a few on a boat to America...